The Crucible Essay

The play, The Crucible, by Arthur Miller is a cautionary tale. Miller warns his audience that the witch hunts and the Salem Witch Trials was a very tragic time period and we must not mimic what had occurred in the past in 1692. This affected many aspects of people’s lives. It cautions us to keep history from repeating itself. A way to prevent this is to avoid tolerance against ignorant power hungry officials at all cost so that lives may be spared. Power hungry men often use fear and paranoia to gain their positions. In the 1950s, Senator Joseph McCarthy “brash and ill mannered but to many authentic and true” (Article page 1), was very convincing in his supremacy. He warned the citizens of the United States that “we had lost to China” and Communism would spread to Europe too. This put fear and paranoia into millions and created “The Red Scare” that ruined many aspects of people lives, putting them into a mass panic. As a result of this, Arthur Miller created the character in his play, “The Crucible” who is a McCarthy-like character named Judge Thomas Danforth, who spread the fear of witchcraft among many people while encouraging his own power in 1692 during the Salem Witch Trials. He announces to the people of Salem that “near to four hundred are in jails from Marblehead to Lynn, upon [his] signature” (The Crucible page 87), which is reinforcing his power to everyone to ensure that they know that he is their superior and has much power over them. Had people questioned either of these men’s authority, their power may have been stripped and lives may have been spared. Unfortunately, nobody actually doubted or suspected any of their mannerisms, and people were also scared of Joseph McCarthy and Thomas Danforth. They would probably be executed if someone had doubted the ruler or questioned them. Yet, one life lost in the result of millions after that seems like a sensible thought. What Arthur...

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...Throughout history, cruel and unusual punishment has been targeted against the minority of these groups: racial, religious, gender, and belief. These groups have suffered tremendously; especially because most of them were innocent. In the play “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller, a group of women were tortured because of their alleged beliefs. In this play, these women were prosecuted for practicing witchcraft, the use of supernatural powers. The hysteria in the Salem witch trials were due to people fearing the act of witchcraft. The hysteria and mindset of the Salem witch trials can be compared that of the Holocaust in several significant ways.
The hysteria of the Salem Witch Trials led to many people being falsely accused of witchcraft. Enemies accused each other to get back at one another for what had previously happened in their lives. On page 74, Cheever came into the Proctor home and took the poppet Mary Warren had just given to Elizabeth. Cheever found a needle in the poppet and then explained to Proctor and Hale, “’The girl, the Williams girl, Abigail Williams, sir. She sat to dinner in Reverend Parris’s house tonight, and without word nor warnin’ she falls to the floor. Like a struck beast, he says, and screamed a scream that a bull would weep to hear. And he goes to save her, and, stuck two inches in the flesh of her belly, he draw a needle out. And demandin’ of her how she come to be so stabbed, she testify it were your...

...minds. Humans most commonly scapegoat their enemies, or the entirely innocent, for their internal issues as a means of coping for their insecurities or explaining the irrational or biased situations they find themselves in. Similarly, others cope just as easily by lying to themselves, which can establish a false reality in the mind of the self-deceiver and, ultimately, leads to fallacies in logic. Coherently, Arthur Miller utilizes his diverse cast of characters in his play write “The Crucible” to demonstrate the ease at which lying to one’s self can create false realities and fallacious logic without our knowing. Arthur Miller’s play write of “The Crucible” demonstrates mankind’s inherited hypocrisy and inability to recognize our self-deception through Proctor’s repression, Elizabeth’s passive aggression, and Danforth’s denial.
“The Crucible” demonstrates mankind’s natural hypocrisy and our inability to recognize our self-deception because of Proctor’s evident repression. Midway through the Crucible, John Proctor finds himself still struggling to cope with his guilt after an affair, which he has continued to not confess his sins to his wife. Proctor, being a lecher unable to confess his disloyalty, eventually made his wife, Elizabeth, suspicious of his disclosure and solitary nature. When Reverend Hale asks Proctor to list the Ten Commandments, he says, “Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s...

...Ever since the beginning of humans, superstition had always been a part of our diverse cultures. There are gypsies and their tarot cards, Romans with their polytheism, and the Puritans and their Salem Witch Trials. The Salem Witch Trials, was a year long witch hunt that occurred between 1692 and 1693. Many historians puzzled themselves over the entire debacle, and several debated that it were not Abigail who had the most blame, but instead Deputy Governor, Thomas Danforth. There was a good judge in him, but his inability to listen to what he did not want to hear impaired his ability to conduct a truly just trial. In Arthur Miller's depiction of the Salem Witch Trials, The Crucible, he labels Danforth as a stubborn old man that tried to prove the unprovable. He depicts the judge with the flaws that he believes everyone that defense the accused desire to overthrow the court, is so narrow indeed as the not allow any to question his decisions, believes the girls are incapable of deceit, and lastly, hangs the innocent to refrain from ruining his beloved reputation.
The very first time the audience is introduced to the audience, he is seen as a powerful, dictating, authoritarian that allows no room for argument in his court. His self righteousness is so incredibly stuffy, that when Giles Corey, an old man whose wife had been accused, tries to defend her, he proclaims that "the pure in heart need no lawyers" (Miller 93). His desire to find real witchcraft blinds...

...Essay on the Crucible
American author Arthur Miller wrote a play in 1953 named the Crucible. The Crucible was portrayed as the Salem witch trials that took place in 1692 and 1693 in the Province of Massachusetts Bay. The play was written as a milked version of McCarthyism. McCarthyism was when the Government put people who had been accused of being communist on the Blacklist. Miller was accused himself in 1956 as being a communist and refused to name names from who he had seen in the few meetings he attended.(THIS HAS ALL BEEN FACT). In Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible, Hysteria is used frequently and is to be the theme of the play that Miller is showing.(THESIS). In the village of Salem the first accusation that was made led to many others because of the result. Bridget Bishop was the first women accused of witchcraft and then later hung. Two girls did not think they were causing any harm when they decided to mess around with people’s minds and pretending to have strange fits. Many people could only think of one thing that was the cause, which was witchcraft. Later it was decided by a doctor that is was a source of witchcraft for he could not see anything wrong and assumed. As time
pasted more and more men and women were hung or being put into jail for practicing witchcraft.(THESE ARE THE SUPPORTING ARGUMENTS). The trials showed many foolish acts which led to a great loss of numbers in...

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THE CRUCIBLEESSAY
‘The Crucible’ written by Arthur Miller and my related material ‘Happy Feet’ by George Miller is true to this statement “Understanding nourishes belonging…a lack of understanding prevents it” that represents the interpretation of belonging. To define belong is to have the correct personal and social assets to be a member of a particular group or it could be to fit a particular environment.
By a sense of place, people you meet, and context and environment can affect belonging. The place that affects belonging in ‘The Crucible’ is set in Salem Massachusetts, USA, in 1692. What arises in this specific setting is only a theocracy based on a very literal Christianity. By changing the setting of ‘The Crucible’ it wouldn’t have the same meaning, for that reason the events that occurred in Salem in 1692.
The Crucible Characters John Proctor, Abigail Williams and Mary warren will provide support to my claims. Belonging can be influenced by the character’s own circumstances. For instance Abigail Williams is in a situation where she longed to belong to the adult world - especially in John Proctor’s arms once more. This is due to the fact that she is in the pre-teen stage and how throughout the play adults kept strengthen the border line between a child and adult. Furthermore realise how in the beginning Abigail is very...

...The CrucibleEssay
The Crucible was a very emotional book in terms of plot. The plot was about a girl named Abigail who accuses many people of witchcraft. She also accuses Elizabeth Proctor, wife of John Proctor. Abigail uses her power of the court to get to her obsession, John Proctor, by trying to eliminate Elizabeth. She is unsuccessful in getting this done and ends up executing over twelve people including John Proctor. It is great to see all the different kinds of characterization and themes. This story really gets you thinking about many things, such as, lying and telling the truth, or most importantly, standing up for your beliefs even if you have to die for them. It also shows how envy, greed, hate, and jealousy can impact so many lives.
A good theme in the crucible is the hunger for power because it shows you can get it in the town of Salem. All the power went to Abigail Williams. She then abused the power for the use of evil to get revenge on Elizabeth Proctor for having John. "Life, is God's most precious gift; no principle, however glorious may justify the taking of it"  Reverend Hale. This is one of the best quotes I have heard in a while. This quote mostly points to Danforth. It points to him because he was the one who sentenced John Proctor to hang, even though he knew he was innocent. He couldn't stop the sentencing because he thought it was too late to go back. "Now hear me, and...

...The Crucible
The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller in 1953 recalls the hysteria and madness of the Salem Witch trials of 1692. Miller incorporated many themes in his play. These themes highlight other factors in The Crucible. This essay will look at a theme which is effectively highlighted by a scene and it will explain how the theme is explored in the play as a whole. It will also show how this scene effectively highlights the theme.
Puritanism controls life in the town of Salem as a number of people believed in “The Elect”. Which were certain people who seemed holy enough to be allowed entry into the Lord’s domain in the afterlife. However Puritanism was a strict regime during their time as they believed in strict rules which determined the goodness of a person. As a result anybody who acts independently or seems slightly out of the ordinary are considered a threat to the Puritan belief. Due to the fact that the Puritans liked a close knit community, people were not allowed to act as if they had freedom otherwise they would be persecuted. A strict regime for the lord’s people, one might think that it is rather inconvenient because this lack of freedom created unvoiced resentments amongst the people of Salem. These resentments build up and are primed to explode. The Witch Trials in “The Crucible” can be considered to be an attack against individuality: the people that were accused and convicted of...

...Betrayals in The Crucible
In The Crucible, the community of Salem was depicted as motivated by fear, greed, and revenge shown by the witch trials. Some people of the community are afraid for their lives of being condemned a witch, while others take advantage of those fears. As a result, people will do anything to satisfy the motivation including betrayal. In The Crucible, three types of betrayal are evident which are the betrayal of oneself, theocracy, and community.
In Salem, the puritan society is supposed to be a community where everyone is tightly knit and demonstrates purity. However, this sense of unity is broken with betrayal; so therefore, the community of Salem does not actually exist.
Betrayal of community is the most evident theme of betrayal in Salem because of the idea of a broken community. Everyone in Salem is accusing one another of witchcraft for fear that they will be condemned. Therefore, this action is an effort to save one's own life and avoid suspicion. The Putnam’s are an example of this betrayal. Mrs. Putnam accuses Betty for having been seen flying over a neighbor's barn. This is shown on page 13, “How high did she fly, how high?” “Mr. Collins saw her goin' over Ingersoll's barn, and come down light as bird.” Before, the Putnam's brother in law was up for the candidacy for reverend, but Parris received the job. As a result, the Putnam’s retained a grudge against Parris and therefore on his daughter....